Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 155 Lama Healing People
When dealing with things that exude a strong sense of yin, such as mummies and coffins, Lei Xianming always makes sure to keep Ah Xiang by his side.

Honestly, Hu Ming really dislikes Lei Xianming.

His family fortune was squandered by his two spendthrift sons. In order to pay off the debts and accumulate enough wealth for his two sons to live on for the rest of their lives, he actually decided to take his goddaughter to the dangerous Kunlun Glacier.

In response, Hu Ming could only say that adopted children and biological children are indeed different.

Moreover, he strongly suspected that Lei Xianming probably only treated Ah Xiang as a useful tool.
Seeing that Lei Xianming was questioning his decision to bring his family along and was determined to risk his entire family's lives, Hu Ming decided to ignore him.

As the saying goes, if someone is determined to court disaster, no one can stop them.

Hu Mingcai didn't care whether his woman lived or died. Although she was very charming, he wasn't the kind of useless, third-rate protagonist who couldn't resist women.

But Ah Xiang...

Hmm... I'll lend a hand if I can. Anyway, this girl wasn't meant to die; she survived in the original story.

After getting to know each other, the group didn't delay any longer. Carrying the supplies they had prepared, they boarded a train to western Xinjiang that very night.

Hu Ming and his group's first stop was Lake Lhamo Latso, to search for Hu Bayi's old lama friend.

In the Xinjiang language, "Lam" means "fairy" or "goddess," and "la" refers to the surface of a lake.

Therefore, Lake Lhamo Latso means "Lake of the Soul of the Celestial Maiden" in the Xinjiang language, and it is revered as a sacred lake by the locals.

Legend has it that the water in the lake is the tears of fairies, which can cleanse people of worldly impurities and ailments, purify their souls, and make them pure.

I walked around Fairy Lake and occasionally saw the remains of pilgrims.

Just then, a hunched figure appeared before them.

The conspicuous black iron rod on his back tells you that he is Hu Bayi's lama friend.

At this moment, the lama with the iron rod was not simply making a pilgrimage around the lake, but seemed to be performing some kind of mysterious witchcraft.

From a distance, the movements of the Iron Rod Lama easily remind one of a local shamanistic ritual performed while slacking off...

Hu Ming knew that this was a ritual to exorcise evil spirits.

At this moment, Hu Bayi could no longer hold back and stepped forward.

The Iron Plate Lama also spotted Hu Ming and his group. Despite not having seen each other for decades, he recognized Hu Bayi at a glance.

He stopped what he was doing and quickly came over to recognize Hu Bayi.

The two were filled with sighs and lamentations upon meeting.

The lama introduced himself, saying that he had never left Fairy Lake in recent years and spent his days chanting sutras and circumambulating the lake. He explained that his strange actions just now were a divination performed by the Medicine Master.

"Is it because something happened nearby that I consulted the apothecary?" Yang Xueli asked curiously.

“There were two poachers from the mainland hunting nearby. They were novices. They waited for five days without finding any prey. Finally, they saw a small animal they had never seen before. After shooting it, they skinned it and cooked it while it was still fresh.”

"After eating, they were writhing on the ground in stomach pain. By the time someone found them, they were already unconscious and foaming at the mouth."

“When I was young, I worked as a medicine lama. In recent years, I have often treated the people by the lake, so they came to ask me to save them.”

The lama looked at the group, smiled gently, and explained in a slow voice.

As a monk, the lama naturally had no liking for poachers, and given his temperament, he wouldn't have wanted to save them at all. However, Buddhism emphasizes compassion, so the lama agreed to treat the poachers' illnesses and injuries.

As the group was chatting, several people from western Xinjiang carried two poachers over on their backs.

Out of curiosity, Hu Ming went over to take a look and saw that the two men were pale as paper, barely breathing, with white foam constantly oozing from the corners of their mouths, and their stomachs were swollen. Both of them were groaning in pain, and it looked like they had eaten something unclean or suffered from severe food poisoning. To save them, they would probably have to be sent to the hospital for emergency treatment!
Looking at the two people's symptoms, Hu Bayi couldn't help but frown and say something.

He didn't have a good impression of these people either, but after all, they were two lives. Having witnessed the loss of life on the battlefield, Hu Bayi always had an extraordinary respect for life.

"Old Hu, this isn't food poisoning... It looks like it, but actually, these two people are possessed by evil spirits."

"Moreover, the one on the right is deeply possessed by evil spirits and is beyond saving. Even a great immortal descending to earth would find it difficult to save him!"

Hu Ming sensed a faint trace of yin energy within the two individuals and shook his head, speaking softly.

Of course, if they really wanted to be saved, Hu Ming's precious blood would be enough to pull them out of the hellish place.

But poachers? Ha!
"Mr. Hu Ming has a keen eye; he's no ordinary person. According to them, the two of them ate a large black lynx."

"But that's not a cat, it's a demon formed from the spirits of a newly deceased person, which is why the two of them have turned into this form."

The lama looked at Hu Ming with surprise.

Seeing how young and fair-skinned Hu Ming's face was, I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. After liberation, there were fewer and fewer young people who still believed in these feudal superstitions.

“That’s right, Ak, let me tell you, don’t let my cousin’s pretty-boy appearance fool you, he’s a man of real talent…”

Seeing this, Hu Bayi couldn't help but start.

"Mr. Hu Ming is right. One of them consumed too much evil energy and is beyond saving. As for the other one..."

The lama smiled but didn't reply. He already knew the answer based solely on Hu Ming's earlier assessment.

He merely frowned slightly, glancing at the other poacher with a hint of disgust, before switching to the local language and instructing the Xinjiang people who had carried them there: "Go to the sacred lake and find some dead fish scales."

As he spoke, the lama pried open the poacher's mouth and, using the water from Fairy Lake, forcibly fed him two Tibetan medicine pills.

This Tibetan medicine was specially made by a lama and had an excellent life-saving effect. As soon as he took it, the man began to vomit violently and then vaguely regained consciousness.

Meanwhile, the people from western Xinjiang who had gone to the lake to look for rotten fish scales had returned.

The lama arranged the fish scales around the poacher, then found a piece of rat-repelling ground and burned it into charcoal. He mixed the rotten, smelly fish scales with the charcoal and fed it to the poacher.

"Old Hu, how can rotten fish scales and freshly burned charcoal be used to treat people?"

Upon seeing this, Yang Xueli frowned and tightened her grip on Hu Bayi's arm.

Although Yang Xueli had encountered many strange things, she still believed in science. Naturally, she would seek medical treatment, including diagnosis, medication, and injections.

The scene before her eyes was incomprehensible to her, but seeing that the people of Xinjiang around her had no doubts, she remained rational and did not question them. Instead, she asked Hu Bayi in a low voice out of curiosity.

"This is a folk remedy used by locals to ward off evil spirits and cure diseases. Although it seems illogical, superstitious and unscientific."

"But I once heard that this special method, when used in conjunction with the life-saving Tibetan medicine specially formulated by the Medicine Lama, has miraculous effects!"

“The Western Frontier is a remote and desolate region, and over thousands of years a unique local treatment method has developed. Since this lama is doing this, it must be effective,” Hu Bayi chuckled and explained.

(End of this chapter)